Liam Dawson makes his return to the Test arena after eight years as England announced their playing XI for the Manchester Test against India on Monday, July 21. Liam Dawson was the only change made to the lineup as he came in to replace Shoaib Bashir, who was injured during the Lord’s Test win.
England have announced their Playing XI for the 4th Test against India at Old Trafford, Manchester, starting July 23. The team sees the return of spinner Liam Dawson, who has replaced the injured Shoaib Bashir. That is the only change in England’s XI from the Lord’s Test. England currently lead the five-Test series 2-1 after winning at Headingley and Lord’s.
Shoaib Bashir has been the long-term investment this past year: a 6ft 4in right-arm off-spinner who, aged 21, struggles to get a look-in at Somerset and has instead been honing his craft at the highest level. His ceiling is fancied to be higher than his towering release point, even if he is a No 11 with the bat and a competent fielder at best.
Liam Dawson returns to the test arena after 8 years
Shoaib Bashir fractured his finger on his left hand and underwent surgery right after the third match of the series was done. Liam Dawson was brought into the side as his replacement. The 35-year-old Liam Dawson makes his return having played his last Test match against South Africa at Nottingham in 2017. Incidentally he made his debut against India in Chennai during the 2016 tour. So far,Liam Dawson has played three Test matches and has picked up 7 wickets and scored 84 runs with a best score of 66 not out.
“England Men have made one change to their XI for the Rothesay Fourth Test against India at Emirates Old Trafford, starting on Wednesday, July 23. Hampshire spinner Liam Dawson replaces the injured Shoaib Bashir. This will be Dawson’s first Test appearance since July 2017,” read the statement from England cricket.
Over the years, Liam Dawson has made himself a globetrotter, taking part in various T20 leagues. However, he brings in a wealth of experience in first-class cricket, as he has scored 10731 runs and picked up wickets 371 wickets in 212 matches.
Liam Dawson sits at the other end of more than one spectrum: a 5ft 8in left-arm spinner who, aged 35, has banked 206 first-class games for Hampshire. This recall, eight years after the last of his three Test caps, also offers England greater flexibility when it comes to picking their seam attack. Liam Dawson, who is a livewire in the field, can slot in at No 8 comfortably given he has 18 first-class hundreds.
However, for Jeetan Patel, the assistant coach who oversees England’s spinners, this switch is a pragmatic pick that rewards a seasoned pro in Liam Dawson. As for where it leads when everyone is fit and available, not least next winter’s Ashes tour, the mantra under Brendon McCullum, the head coach, is that things will work themselves out.
With Liam Dawson’s bowling maturing in the past two and a half seasons, returning 124 championship wickets, he will need much less guidance than Bashir and brings a thicker tactical playbook. However, this is not a sign England’s belief in the Bashir project is wavering, with the youngster having claimed 68 wickets from his first 19 Test outings and Patel heavily involved in his development.
Harry Brook England’s prolific batter, commented on the return of Liam Dawson and called him a ‘wily old fox’, whose experience will be vital for the hosts.
Harry Brook praises Liam Dawson the only inclusion in the Playing XI for 4th Test at Manchester
Harry Brook spoke highly of Liam Dawson upon his addition to England’s XI for the upcoming fourth Test of the ongoing five-match series against India. An injury, though on the non-bowling hand, to Shoaib Bashir meant that 35-year-old Dawson came in as the former’s replacement and is all set to play his first red-ball game since July 2017.
The England batter commented on the experience the all-rounder brought to the set-up, in terms of his all-round skills. He also spoke highly of Liam Dawson’s hunger to win as being an added boost to the squad, give the latter’s record with the bat as well. The young batter feels it is always good to have guys like Liam Dawson in the dressing room.
“He’s a wily old fox, very experienced. He’s a very skillful cricketer as well. He’s played everywhere, played against everyone. Hopefully he can land it in the foot-holes and create a bit of spice out of there and some opportunities to take wickets.”
Harry Brook also heaped praise on Liam Dawson’s batting skills and opined that his presence will strengthen the lower order batting in the upcoming Test at Manchester.
“He’s obviously a very good batter as well, he’s got nearly 20 (18) First-Class hundreds. That’s adding to our strength in batting. He’s a good bloke, he’s willing to always fight for the team. He’s very competitive, and it’s good to have him here,” Harry Brook said during the pre-match press conference on Monday.
The presence of Dawson has now strengthened the batting order of England ahead of the Manchester Test. England are currently leading the series 2-1 and will be aiming to wrap up the series in Manchester.
England playing XI for Manchester Test : Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Liam Dawson, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer.
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